Paul Merson predicts Newcastle vs Bournemouth and reveals Howe stance
Newcastle United host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday in a non-televised 3pm kick-off at St James' Park.
The Magpies are desperate for a win, and a good performance on top of that would go a long way to easing some of the tension on Tyneside.
However, Bournemouth are quite the bogey team for Eddie Howe, and while the record at St James' Park isn't as desperate as it is at the Vitality Stadium, there's still a lot of room for improvement.
Newcastle are going to have to break the cycle if they want to deliver the performance that fans crave and indeed deserve.
Paul Merson predicts entertaining game
Paul Merson has backed a 2-2 draw in prediction piece for Sportskeeda, discussing what he believes will be an entertaining game and Eddie Howe’s future at the club.
"Newcastle are struggling at the moment. They are not playing well at all! If Bournemouth play like they did against Arsenal, they can easily win this game.
"I expect Newcastle to have a go here. They are playing at home and they need to put on a show for their fans. Bournemouth are a team that don't mess around either. I don't expect them to sit back against Newcastle so this could be an entertaining game.
"Eddie Howe is still the right man to be leading Newcastle. He helped them win a trophy last season. Sometimes, we tend to overlook the work he's done at the club. If they let him go, he won't be without a job for too long and that says everything about his quality!
"I'm shocked whenever I hear rumours about Newcastle wanting to part ways with Howe. He's good, just stick with him. We saw Bournemouth take the game to Arsenal last weekend and we will see that here too. I'm predicting a thrilling draw.
"Prediction: Newcastle United 2-2 Bournemouth"
Full-time is going to be interesting if Newcastle lose again
Some may be looking at this game as the battles of managers present and future after Andoni Iraola was linked by some outlets with the Newcastle job when he leaves Bournemouth at the end of the season.
We'd be shocked if that comes to pass, but the fact that it's even being mentioned is an indication of the type of pressure surrounding this game.
A reader in our comments section said it perfectly - "The noise at the final whistle will be telling." Whatever happens on Saturday, the fans will make their voices heard at full-time, and we'll get a good picture of where we truly are right now.
